Jazz Articles

Our daily articles are carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. You can find more articles by searching our website, see what's trending on our popular articles page or read articles ahead of their published dates on our Coming Soon page. Read our daily album reviews.

Extended Analysis

Blood, Sweat, Drum + Bass: In the Spirit of...

by Ian Patterson
May 15, 2015

The 25-30 piece Danish big band Blood Sweat Drums + Bass isn't your typical big band. The juggernaut steered by Jens Christian “Chappe" Jensen meshes traditional jazz sections of trumpet, saxophone and trombone with electronics and electric guitar, and has incorporated DJs and rappers on occasion. And, as the name intimates, a pulsating rhythm section comprising two drummers and a percussionist and two bassists inject wicked grooves into the brew. In the Spirit of... (Blood Sweat Media, 2014) is a ...

Album Review

Polar Bear: Same As You

Read "Same As You" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
May 15, 2015

Polar Bear's seventh album, Same As You appears barely 12 months after album number six, In Each And Every One (Leaf Label, 2014). It's far from being a “more of the same" follow-up though--this is a softer, more-at-peace Polar Bear sound than its predecessor, a mellower vibe. There are just six tracks on the album--all written or co-written by drummer and producer Sebastian Rochford. Rochford gives this album a warmer and more organic feel than In Each And ...

Album Review

Skuggorna Och Ljuset: Would Fall from the Sky, Would Wither and Die

Read "Would Fall from the Sky, Would Wither and Die" reviewed by John Eyles

by John Eyles
May 15, 2015

If the Swedish group name Skuggorna Och Ljuset does not ring any bells, then the names of some of its members may help jog the memory--Magnus Granberg on clarinet, Anna Lindal on violin, Leo Svensson Sander on cello, Erik Carlsson on percussion. Yes? Well, all four of them have previously figured on Another Timbre releases as members of the larger ensemble Skogen, in particular playing the Granberg compositions “Ist gefallen in den Schnee" and “Despairs Had Governed Me Too Long" ...

Album Review

Merzbow/Mats Gustafsson/Balázs Pándi: Live In Tabačka 13/04/12

Read "Live In Tabačka 13/04/12" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
May 15, 2015

Let's bring back the maxim; “If it's too loud--you're too old." Certainly, when you listen to noise-music (is that an oxymoron? Absolutely not.) loudness is to a composition, what rhythm is to George Gershwin. That said, Live In Tabačka 13/04/12 is fascinating noise. This recording, released as a limited (400 copies) LP and digital download was recorded the night before the trio of Japanoise god Masami Akita aka Merzbow, Swedish free jazz saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, and Hungarian drummer ...

Interview

Burt Eckoff: A Pianist's Close Encounters With the Greats of Jazz

by Idelle Nissila-Stone
May 14, 2015

Active in the New York City jazz scene since the 1960s, pianist Burt Eckoff played with many jazz greats, among them Howard McGhee, Maynard Ferguson, Art Blakey, Sonny Stitt and Archie Shepp. He is known for exceptional artistry in his work with vocalists Dionne Warwick, The Drifters, Eddie Jefferson, and most importantly Dakota Staton, with whom he had a long association. His formative years playing Rhythm & Blues in Providence, Rhode Island laid the groundwork for his career as a ...

Live Review

Live From Old York: Spring Festival Of New Music

by Martin Longley
May 14, 2015

York Spring Festival Of New Music April 29-May 3, 2015 The University Of York's Spring Festival Of New Music covered a diverse range of fresh sounds, presented in a variety of venues, including two deconsecrated churches. Students from the music department were heavily involved, but there were also visiting composers and performers, helping to probe the fringes of moderne composition, edging into the languages of rock, jazz, improvisation and the imagining of centuries-old ...

Album Review

Henry Threadgill Zooid: In For A Penny, In For A Pound

Read "In For A Penny, In For A Pound" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
May 14, 2015

Fresh off his significant contribution to Jack DeJohnette's Made In Chicago (ECM, 2015), composer/saxophonist/flautist Henry Threadgill and his most long-established group, Zooid, return for the ensemble's most creative and ambitious collection. Almost thirty years ago, Threadgill told Chicago's Pulitzer winning writer, Studs Terkel, of the influence of marching bands that he saw in that city's frequent street parades. That influence--along with that of his founding status in the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians--are apparent in the adventurous collection ...

Album Review

Bobby Bradford & John Carter Quintet: No U Turn: Live In Pasadena, 1975

Read "No U Turn: Live In Pasadena, 1975" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
May 14, 2015

History, it is said, is written by the victors. With jazz history, the story is too often written by New Yorkers, or at least those east of the Mississippi. Listeners with inquisitive minds are required to dig deeper, into record bins and into interviews with musicians to learn about players that did not make New York their home. We are fortunate to have dedicated musicologists who find 'lost' recordings and make them available to fans. A fine example ...

Live Review

Jakob Bro, Lee Konitz, Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan at Mengi

by Ian Patterson
May 13, 2015

Jakob Bro, Lee Konitz, Bill Frisell, Thomas Morgan Mengi Reykjavík, Iceland May 8, 2015 (2nd show) “I've been waiting for this moment for a long time," said guitarist Jakob Bro to the small, tightly packed audience at Mengi, a vibrant new arts space in downtown Reykjavik. This tour--which besides Iceland also made stops in Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Norway and Greenland--had been some time in coming, for all concerned. It's been ...

Interview

Pat Petrillo: Performance, Education, and Groovalution

by Ben Scholz
May 13, 2015

Recognized as one of the first instructional video producers, drummer Pat Petrillo set a standard for educational media with his landmark 1987 recording Snare Drum Rudiments. Since then he has developed a remarkable career as a performer and educator. Pat and I sat down at the APAP convention in New York City to discuss his history, influences, and upcoming performances. All About Jazz: So, Snare Drum Rudiments... Pat Petrillo: Woah, that was a lifetime ago.